Happy Birthday! Cory Monteith is 31 on May 11
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Cory Monteith: Recent News

May 08, 2013

Lea Michele & Cory Monteith Sun Themselves in Mexico

May 06, 2013

Which Couple Are You Looking Out for at the Met Gala?

May 02, 2013

Cory Monteith, Lea Michele Cheer Canucks in His Hometown

Apr 26, 2013

Cory Monteith Completes Rehab, Reunites with Lea Michele

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Cory Monteith: Snapshot

Name: Cory Monteith
Date of Birth: May 11, 1982
Birth Place: Calgary, Alberta

Step aside Zac Efron, there's a new singing jock in town! Playing Glee's Finn Hudson, Cory Monteith has won over fans, costars and even celebs like Taylor Swift – and the Canadian cutie shows no signs of slowing down.

Growing up in Calgary, Alberta, Monteith spent his youth rocking out on the drum set, not manning the mic, and only found his way into acting when a casting director spotted the high school dropout and saw a star in the making. After moving to Vancouver, he landed guest-starring roles on Supernatural, Smallville and Kyle XY before he scored his breakout role on Glee.

After four successful seasons on the show, Monteith checked into rehab, drawing the support of his costars and off-screen girlfriend Lea Michele.

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Cory Monteith: Video

Star Talk

The stars of the hit show try their luck at the roulette table – and embrace their sexy geekiness

(00:56)

Cory Monteith: Five Fun Facts

Cory Monteith drove "20 hours without stopping" from Vancouver to L.A. to audition for a role on Glee. "I slept on the side of the road in Oregon and learned all the songs to Rent and Billy Joel's greatest hits so I'd have something to audition with," he told the Canadian newspaper Times Colonist.
While living in Vancouver, Cory Monteith shared an apartment with fellow Canadian and 90210 star Dustin Milligan.
Before becoming an actor, Cory Monteith worked as a Wal-Mart greeter and drove a cab. "Being picked up by a 19-year-old taxi driver always got some pretty classic reactions out of people," he told Canada's 24 Hours.
Trying to describe the show before it aired, Cory Monteith once said of Glee, "It's as if High School Musical had been punched in the stomach and had its lunch money stolen".
Cory Monteith's favorite place to practice singing is in the shower. "Sometimes I shower when I don't even need to," he told PEOPLE. "I get out when my voice starts to hurt."

Cory Monteith: Biography

late 1990s: Finding His Footing
After his parents divorce at age 7, Monteith and older brother Shaun are raised by his single mother, Ann McGregor, in Calgary, Canada. Dropping out of school in the ninth grade, he works part-time jobs and plays drums in a local band until meeting casting director Maureen Webb. "It didn't even occur to me what actors did," Monteith later tells the Times Colonist. "Three weeks later I moved to Vancouver with just a bag of T-shirts and two pairs of pants."
2004: Acting Up
Monteith makes his onscreen debut in a 2004 episode of Stargate: Atlantis, and goes on to guest-star on Kyle XY, Kaya and Fear Itself (right). "I call myself a working-class actor," he later tells The Toronto Star. "You know, you go from one one-line gig to the next one-line gig, to a couple of episodes on this show, a couple of episodes on that show, to a small part in a movie...I was making a good living. But it really wasn't a life."
2009: May 19
Glee-king Out
After sending producers a tape of himself playing "Tupperware drums," Monteith lands the role of jock-turned-crooner Finn Hudson on Glee. "It was such a long shot, such a Hail Mary," he tells the Times Colonist. "I still feel like they've made a mistake and some day they're going to realize I'm the wrong guy for the job." After debuting in the spring, Glee premieres September 9.